Rephrasing a famous saying of Mark Twen we can say that “it’s easy to start losing weight, I’ve done it a million times!” I start losing weight every other week, but by the end of the week I already forget about it. Every month I meet one of my friends, who tell me about this wonderful diet they just found out about. I try it out and quit on it after a few days, even before I could find out, if it was effective or not.
I can’t even remember, how many times I decided to start going to a gym. Several times I even went on the Internet to check out the websites of gyms in my city and find out the membership prices. I can even remember several times, when I actually called some of the gyms nearby my house to ask about their working hours and other stuff. I even went to some gyms with my friend to see how they look and to choose one. I even remember wasting money and actually getting gym memberships, but was I using them? – No more than a few times.
There are so many reasons and causes, why it’s so hard for me, as well as for anybody else, to lose weight. And these causes are very common for many people. It takes lots of effort, determination and courage to start losing weight, but it takes even more to continue doing it. And even if you have already started dieting a million times and failed, there is no reason why you cannot succeed next time and you should keep trying. The main thing is weight loss motivation. If you find the right one for yourself, you can be sure that you are half way through achieving your weight loss goals.
First of all, when starting a diet, learn to set real goals and small-term points. Do not set a goal of losing 50 pounds, as you will mostly likely quit in one week, as you will only be able to lose about one pound if you are lucky. Set small goals from the beginning. If you decide to lose two pounds in the next month, and you will actually lose three, then you will be even more motivated for the second month of your diet. If you meet your goals or if you do better than you planned, award yourself with small pleasant things (but not food!). Keep track of the portions you eat and the goals you reach. This way it will be much easier for you to control the process and be able to analyze your progression. When after a few months you will look at your progress, I can assure you, it will make you motivated to continue! You will not want to go back to your old habits, as soon as you will see the results and will know how much effort it took you.
Another important skill, when starting a diet, which will help you start losing weight and not quit after a few days, is mastering emotional eating. Ask yourself, when do you overeat? Is it when you are starving? Or when you are frustrated? Or when you see a tasty desert? Be frank with yourself. Answer these questions sincerely and don’t try to trick yourself. Understand your triggers of emotional eating and avoid them, eliminate such things from your life or learn how to control your emotions.
Be ready that there will always be people around you, who will encourage you to forget about your diet “just for this evening” or “just for this delicious cookie”. You have to confess, this one time, will then repeat again and again. So you have to learn to control it, otherwise you will have to start dieting all over from the beginning every other week, which, believe me, it way to hard to perform!
Do not try to just lose weight to look good. One of the greatest motivations for weight loss is tour health. Don’t forget, that being lightweight and staying in shape and the main things to do if you want to be healthy and live a long life. Do not go on an extremely strict diet, as it will not be any good for your health. But losing a little bit every month on a regular basis will help you feel much better in very near future.